Gaining Muscle Without Gaining Body Fat - Is It Really Possible?

If you are anything like me or the other 99% of the muscle building population, your goal from lifting weights is to develop an awe inspiring physique and the strength to match. Because of the impassioned desire to achieve the ideal body type, many fitness enthusiasts begin trying to build muscles with only a vague idea of what they are doing. They simply want to get ripped as fast as possible and with as little work as possible.

Those who are motivated to bulk up know they need to take in carbohydrates and calories but at the same time are afraid of gaining unwanted body fat in the process. Unfortunately, when you are trying to add muscle mass in a relatively short period of time you will almost always end up gaining additional body fat in the process. Gaining some body fat while bulking up is basically how the entire process of building process works and if you are unwilling to accept it then bulking up may not be for you.

Gaining muscle size and strength means consuming a surplus of calories in order to facilitate the process known as protein synthesis. But there is no way to convert 100% of your caloric intake into protein synthesis because it is simply not biologically possible. A certain amount of the calories you take in in order to bulk up will inevitably become stored fat on and within your body. In order to reconstruct your body according to your specifications it is really best to focus on gaining muscle mass through heavy lifting and caloric intake followed by time off centered around shedding excess body fat.

Your levels of muscle mass play a large role in determining your metabolism rate and therefore it is always far easier to shed body fat once you have significantly bulked up. This is precisely why bulking up first and then shredding body fat later is nearly always the best and most efficient path. Your primary goal while building muscle it to never lose body fat but rather only to gain as little excess body fat as possible.

Here are a few good ways to accomplish this:

1. Calculate an exact surplus of calories - A surplus of calories is essential to fuel proper muscle growth but cramming mass quantities of food and supplements down your throat indiscriminately will more than likely cause you to gain more body fat than is necessary. According to fitness and nutrition experts taking in 15-20% more calories than is needed to sustain your present body weight is ideal for muscle development while minimizing accumulation of fat.

2. Scrutinize Your Food Choices - The overwhelming majority of your food choices should come from high quality proteins and healthy unsaturated fats. Foods high in protein include things like eggs, 1% milk (soy milk if you prefer), fish, beef, chicken, and fish. Healthy unsaturated fats include things like corn, sunflower, soybean, and flaxseed oils as well as foods like nuts and fish.

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